Swiss salmon farmer first announced plans for expansion in 2020.
Switzerland’s oldest land-based salmon farmer, Swiss Lachs, announced earlier this month that it has secured approval from the Lostallo municipality in the Swiss canton of Graubünden for further expansion.
The company currently produces about 600 metric tons of Atlantic salmon in a land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) facility.
Swiss Lachs first announced plans to triple production capacity in 2020.
This move is seen as a significant step towards enhancing the company’s capacity to meet rising demand for sustainable, locally-farmed salmon.
A portion of the salmon is further processed and smoked by the company, and the rest is distributed fresh to the domestic market.
Ronald Herculeijns, Chairman of the executive board and co-founder of Swiss Alpine Fish AG, expressed his gratitude to the Lostallo community for its support.
“This approval accelerates our commitment to increasing the supply of sustainably produced salmon. We not only envision a greener future but also foresee creating approximately 20 new jobs in aquaculture, fish processing, refinement, and sales in the coming years,” said Herculeijns.
In 2022, the producer signed a five year agreement with Benchmark Genetics for the supply of salmon eggs.
Six batches of eggs are imported annually and the fish take around 22-24 months to reach an average harvest size of 3.5 kilograms, according to the company.
